Pen and Ink Stipple Portrait (Hedcut) of Donald Trump

Because my work is usually so precise and detailed, sometimes I like to loosen myself up with a Life-Drawing class now and then. A while back I spent a day sketching a young woman who posed for us while breast-feeding her child. It was a really lovely composition, but what made the visual a bit jarring was that the child was actually about 6 years old. I liked one of the completed sketches enough to hang it in my studio for awhile. It was interesting to observe the reaction of folks who happened to see it because it was usually presumed that I had drawn the pair inaccurately – the size relationship a bit off-kilter. Of course, I would become defensive…explaining that I had drawn the two of them exactly as I’d seen them.

Drawing Donald Trump presents a similar conundrum. I’ve drawn a zillion portraits over the years so I’ve learned a lot about how the various elements of a face work together…how age can affect the skin…how hair grows out of the scalp and so on. I know this isn’t a startling revelation, but Mr. Trump’s hair simply doesn’t make any sense; one clump of hair will be combed to the right while other strands will cross right over them to the left. Skin tones might vary quite a bit on anyone’s face but there is usually a natural gradation rather than starkly contrasting darks and lights. Bottom line – I really tried to make him look as pleasant as I could for my client. I have a pretty firm policy of not combining politics with business, and I sure don’t want to start now. Frankly, I didn’t vote for the guy, but I will always strive for a happy and professional working relationship with anyone who might have a different point of view. I always try to play well with others. As an olive branch to Mr. Trump’s most enthusiastic base, let me put it this way...